Arsene Wenger surprised by ex-Arsenal striker Kanu Nwankwo

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has expressed his surprise on former striker Kanu Nwankwo who scored a hat-trick over the weekend in a charity game.

Kanu came in as a substitute to score a hat-trick as an XI of Arsenal legends beat their AC Milan counterparts 4-2 in the game organized by the Arsenal Foundation to donate £1million to build football pitches for children in London, Jordan and Somalia.

Arsene Wenger is impressed with Kanu’s fitness in the game

Speaking after the game, Wenger says he was surprised by Kanu’s performance in the game.

“The surprise was Kanu because nobody knew where he played and he turned up with something special again,” Wenger told Arsenal official website.

“Players like Freddie Ljungberg and Robert Pires are still completely fit, and Kolo Toure I’m not surprised about because he still plays for Celtic.

Freddie Ljungberg and Robert Pires celebrate a goal during the game

“The class has not gone, the quality has not gone – the legs a little bit! But not too much. They had enough resources to make the game enjoyable.

Kanu Nwankwo celebrates with Kolo Toure and Marc Overmas during the game

“It is a great afternoon and that shows our values at the club because we raised one million pounds for the charity and we can be very proud of that.”

Kanu scored two headed goals before completing his hat-trick from the penalty spot.